Circular knitting machines of the superimposed needle cylinder type and methods of knitting on the same



June 4, 1968 I A. awmoowsou 'ET AL 3,386,267

1 t e e h E a L mm B M w N a DE E H 5T 0 PN M O I RG E N PI U T S T .1 EN H K T F F O O 5 SD E O INDER TYPE AND METH 6 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHIN C Filed Feb. 1,

l w F June 1968 A. H. wuooowsorq ET AL 3,386,267

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE ANDv METHODS OF KNITTING ON THE SAME Filed Feb. 1, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 an I 7' Q ,5

. j I" l/WPNTOR Arron/v5) June 4, 1968 A. H. WIDDOWSON ET AL 3,386,267

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE AND METHODS OF KNITTING ON THE SAME Filed Feb. 1,' 1.966 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 5a, Fig.3A. :7

' H IWIIMIWIIMIDIUIIIIW June 4, 1968 A, H.w Dow oN ET AL 3,386,267

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE AND METHODS OF KNITTING oN THE SAME Filed Feb. 1, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 7 5 a m 6 S S S D t EM 3EA N mm E EH 5T June 9 A. H.WIDDOWSON ET A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPO CYLINDER TYPE AND METHODS OF KNITTING ON Filed Feb. 1, 1966 June 4, 1968 A. H. WIDDOWSON ET AL 3,386,267

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE AND METHODS OF KNITTING ON THE SAME Filed Feb. 1. 1966 s Sheets-Sheet e UIIIIIMIIIMIIIWIJBUDUIL:

United States Patent 3,386,267 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES OF THE SUPERIMPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE METHODS OF KNITTING ON I HE Albert H. Widdowson, Osmond Ecol), and Bertram Johnson, Leicester, England, assignors to Wildt Mellor Bromly Limited, Leicester, England, a British company Filed Feb. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 524,049 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 6, 1965, 5,239/ 65 5 Claims. (Cl. 66-14) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for producing selective links-links float jacquard fabric on a machine having odd and even feeds and bottom and top needle cylinders equipped with double-ended needles. The method consists in selecting needles at a station in advance of each even feed to knit in bottom cylinder at the following odd feed, and selecting at a station in advance of each odd feed needles to knit in top cylinder at this odd feed, leaving non-selected needles at the odd feed which knitted the bottom cylinder at aforesaid even feed to non-knit in bottom cylinder at the odd feed.

This invention is primarily concerned with new or improved methods of knitting on circular knitting machines of the superimposed needle cylinder type, but also has reference to an improvement in the bottom cam systems of such a machine designed to make the adoption of these methods possible.

In particular, the invention relates to methods of knitting on a multi-feed, superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form including, in combination with a circular series of independent double-ended latch needles, needle actuating sliders in the axially opposed bottom or plain and top or rib needle cylinders, knitting, tucking and transfer cams in the bottom and top cam system for operating the said sliders, jacks in association with the sliders in the bottom cylinder and, in advance of each feed or feeder, a selecting station at which is provided a patterning device for selectively influencing the jacks, whereby needles can be transferred from one cylinder to the other, and vice versa, in the production of plain, rib and purl, including selective links-links fabrics patterned by various miss or non-knit, e.g. float jacquard effects, tuck stitch effects, and so on, according to patterning requirements.

To enable it to produce a selective links-links twocolour float jacquard fabric with or without tuck stitch effects, a multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form referred to has heretofore been required to have two selection points in advance of at least some of its feeds, in some cases, in fact, two selection points 1 have been specially provided in advance of every feed. In other cases, however, a conventional machine of the form concerned has been converted by blanking out some, e.g. alternate ones, of its feeds and using the patterning devices at these feeds suchwise as -to provide two selection points in advance of each of the remaining feeds. But, obviously, any such reduction in the nominal number of feeds results in a commensurate reduction in the rate of production of the machine.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of producing knitted fabrics of the class concerned on a multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form herein referred to whereby all the feeds can be used-with only one selection point in advance of each.

In this specification the term feed, synonymous with the term feeder, means not only the actual yarn guide or guides by which at least one yarn or thread is supplied to the needles at a knitting station, but also the cams provided at the latter to cause needles either to take or to miss such yarn or thread and to knit or tuck it or to op crate in such a way as to form miss or non-knit effects.

Moreover, although the expression a multi-feed machine herein used will primarily mean a superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form herein referred to having an even numbered multiplicity of feeds, it is to be clearly understood that, in its broadest aspect, the new or improved methods of knitting could be practiced on a machine having a minimum of two feeds only. Thus, in this latter respect, the knitting methods of this invention may be regarded as comprising a progression of steps involving the use of both patterning devices in conjunction with the cam systems of two feeds.

A further object of the invention is to provide in the bottom cam system of a multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form herein referred to an arrangement of specially designed cams associated with top transfer means, and enabling the improved methods of the invention to be performed, as will be hereinafter described.

Broadly considered, the improved method of producing a selective links-links float jacquard fabric according to this invention comprises the steps of selecting needles at a single selecting station in advance of one feed (the even feed) to knit in the bottom cylinder at an immediately adjoining feed (the odd feed), and selecting at another single selecting station in advance of the said odd feed needles to knit in the top cylinder at this odd feed, leaving the non-selected needles at the odd feed, which needles knitted in the bottom cylinder at the even feed, to nonknit in the bottom cylinder at the odd feed.

The foregoing broad statement of invention is based on the minimum of two feeds. But in regard to this method as performed, as is principally the intention, on a machine having a multiplicity of odd and even feeds, it can conveniently be re-stated as follows:

The method comprises the steps of selecting needles at the single selecting station in advance of each of the even feeds to knit in the bottom cylinder at the immediately following odd feed, and selecting at the single selecting station in advance of each odd feed needles to knit in the top cylinder at this odd feed, leaving the non-selected needles at the odd feed which needles knitted in the bottom cylinder at the aforementioned even feed to nonkm't in the bottom cylinder at the said odd feed.

But to simplify the following further description the expression even feed will be used to mean either the first of two feeds only or each even feed of a multiplicity of odd and even feeds; similarly, the expression odd feed will be used to mean either the second of two feeds or each odd feed of a multiplicity of feeds.

An aspect of the invention resides in a modification of a conventional multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine of the form herein referred to according to which there are specially provided in the bottom cam system of the machine cam means so formed and arranged as to be adapted to ensure that the bottom sliders corresponding to selected needles transferred upwardly into the top cylinder in advance of the even feed are automatically presented to reecive these needles when they are next transferred down into the bottom cylinder in advance of the odd feed stitch cams.

A still further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a supplementary method of knitting on a multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine modi fied as aforesaid whereby there can be produced fabric incorporating combined links-links and tuck-stitch effects. Thus, the idea is that the hereinbefore described principal improved method and also the supplementary method now to be described shall be both practiced during the knitting of one and the same garment or garment length whereby there can be produced in the latter rib, purl, and solid colour plain areas as well as non-knit and tuck stitch effects.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practical effect, portions of the top and bottom cam systems of a conventional multi-feed superimposed needle cylinder machine, modified to enable the hereinbefore mentioned improved methods of knitting to be performed, as well as details of these methods will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view of the knitting head of the superimposed needle cylinder machine upon which the improved methods of knitting are performed,

FIGURE 2 is a detail vertical sectional view illustrating the manner in which jacks for operating the bottom needle-actuating sliders are selected,

FIGURES 3 and 3A together are a developed layout of the portions of the top and bottom cam systems of the said machine at a first (even) feed and an immediately adjoining second (odd feed), the figure showing the progressive paths through these two feeds of butts on sliders, jacks and selectors associated with double-ended needles during the production of selective links-links float jacquard fabric,

FIGURE 4 is a detail perspective view illustrating a few needles operating in the top and the bottom cylinders at the location ringed round at A in FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 depicting needles operating in both cylinders at the location ringed round at B in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURES 6 and 6A are together a part of a cam system similar to that shown in FIGURE 3 but showing progressive paths taken by butts on relevant instruments during the production of fabric incorporating combined links-links and tuck-stitch effects.

Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings.

Referring to FIGURE 1 it will be seen that the head of the machine of the superimposed needle cylinder type employed for carrying out the improved methods of knitting includes a suitably tricked rotary bottom needle cylinder 1, a similarly tricked co-axially opposed rotary top needle cylinder 2, double-ended latch needles such as 3 operable in said cylinders and transferable from either cylinder to the other, and vice versa, needle actuating sliders 4 in the bottom cylinder 1 and needle actuating sliders 5 in the top cylinder 2. The bottom and top cylinders 1 and 2 are formed with verges 6 and 7 respectively of which the opposed edges are indicated by the chain lines 6a and 7a in each of FIGURES 3 and 6.

For selectively controlling the bottom needle actuating sliders 4 there are provided, in a jack cylinder 8 constituting a downward extension of the bottom needle cylinder 1, jacks 9 which are in turn selectively actuated by jack selectors 10. These selectors are slidably and rockably mounted in the same tricks or grooves 11 in the cylinder 8 as the jacks 9.

The combined cylinders 1 and 8 are surrounded by a comparatively long annular cam box or shell to the inner wall of which are secured all of the cams depicted in the lower sections of FIGURES 3 and 6beneath the chain line 6a. The cylinder 2, on the other hand, is surrounded by a comparatively short annular cam box or shell carrying all of the cams shown in FIGURES 3 and 6 above the chain line 7a. Of the two adjoining feeds shown in each of FIGURES 3 and 6, the first an even feed is designated F1 whilst the second an odd feed is designated F2.

At each of these feeds there is provided a yarn feeder 12 having therein an elongated yarn feeding aperture 12a. The cams at each such feed in the bottom cam system include an adjustable plain stitch cam 13 and a clearing cam 14 for action upon operating butts 4a of the bottom sliders 4; a jack-raising cam 15 and a bottom transfer bolt cam 16 (for transfer up) in a knit-transfer track T for action upon butts 9a on the jacks 9; and a thick ledge cam 17 surmounted by relatively thin selector-elevating cam 18 for action upon operating butts 10a provided at the lower ends of the jack selectors 10. The cams at each of the feeds F1 and F2 in the top cam system include an adjustable rib stitch cam 19, a clearing cam 26 and a top transfer bolt cam 21 (for transfer down) for action upon operating butts 5a of the top sliders 5.

It is convenient to mention here that in FIGURE 3 the only slider butts 511 shown are those on top cylinder sliders 5 which are in control of needles 3; that is to say, the butts of empty top sliders are not shown. But in the lower part of FIGURE 3 the bottom slider butts 4a, the jack butts 9a and the selector butts Itla are shown in two different ways, viz. some as wholly unshaded rectangles and others as blacked in rectangles. The unshaded rectangles represent butts on instruments not in control of needles, whereas the blacked in rectangles represent butts on instruments in control of needles. Sliders not in control of needles are, of course, empty.

The butt 10a on each selector It) is so disposed that, with the selector rocked outwardly at either of the stations S1 and S2, as shown in FIGURE 1, the said butt will be acted upon by the selector-elevating cam 18 to raise the selector at the station. But, in the event of the selector being selected, and thus rocked inwardly to the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 in advance of a feed, the butt 10a will be displaced clear of the selector-elevating cam 18 as a consequence of which the selector will not be raised. At its upper end where it fulcrums each of the jack selectors 10 is adapted to act upon a shoulder 9b adjoining the operating butt 9a of the corresponding jack 9. To enable them to be selectively raised in the manner just described, the jack selectors 10 have prearranged selecting butts 1012 at different heights along their stems to be acted upon by pins, bits, selecting elements or the like, indicated at 22 in FIGURE 2, set out, according to patterning requirements, on, say, a rotary wheel or drum 23 provided in advance of each feed. Thus, in each of FIGURES 3 and 6, the selecting stations in advance of the even and odd feeds are designated C and D respectively. But whilst for convenience of illustration in FIG- URES l and 2 the selectors It) are each shown with a full complement of selecting butts 10b, it is to be understood that in practice these butts may be frangible and broken off where required.

It should be noted that all selectors are rocked outwardly prior to passage by selector C, i.e., at selecting station C.

As previously mentioned herein there are provided in the bottom cam system cam means so formed and arranged as to be adapted to ensure that the bottom sliders 4 corresponding to selected needles transferred upwardly into the top cylinder 2 in advance of the even feed F1, as hereinafter to be described in more detail, are automatically presented to receive these needles when they are next transferred down into the bottom cylinder 1 in advance of the stitch cam 13 at the odd feed F2. In the specific example illustrated, these cams comprise three fixed cams designated 24, 25 and 26 respectively. Of these three specially provided fixed cams, the cam 24 is designed for action upon selector butts a and is located immediately in advance of a vertical line L coincident with the stitch earns 13 and 19 of the even feed F1. The cam 24, by action on appropriate, i.e. unshaded, selector butts 10a, raises selectors 10 and jacks 9 corresponding to empty bottom sliders 4 (from which needles have been transferred upwardly) to a height at which the unshaded butts 9a of these jacks are clearly separated from the blacked in butts 9a of the remaining jacks corresponding to bottom sliders in control of needles. The fixed cam is a straight horizontal guard or divider cam which is incorporated in the jack butt system and positively maintains such separation of the jack butts, the unshaded butts 9a of jacks 9 corresponding to the empty bottom sliders passing over the said cam whereas the blacked in butts 9a of the remaining jacks corresponding to bottom sliders in control of needles pass below the same. The fixed cam 26, also included in the g jack butt system, immediately follows the cam 25 and acts on the undersides of the unshaded butts 9a of jacks corresponding to the empty bottom sliders, the profile of the cam 26 being such as to elevate the said butts and hence the said empty bottom sliders 4 to a height at which the empty slider, i.e. unshaded, butts 4a are further elevated by an automatically operated retained selection bolt cam 27 after which the empty bottom sliders are presented, well in advance of the stitch cams 13 and 19 of the odd feed F2, to receive needles transferred down from the top cylinders 2. Thus, the cam 25 can be said to direct the unshaded butts 9a of jacks 9 corresponding to empty bottom sliders 4 and land them on to the raising cam 26. It should be noted that the needles attendant sliders the butts of which pass below cam 14 (see FIG- URE 3a) form float stitches at feed F2 by tucking in the top cylinder at the previous feed.

Thus, in carrying out on the illustrated machine the improved method of producing a selective links-links float jacquard fabric needles 3 in the bottom cylinder 1 which are not required to knit at the even feed F1 are selected by the patterning device located at C in advance of this feed for transference into the top cylinder 2 where, at A, by virtue of the butts 5a of the receiving top sliders 5 passing along the track T1 in the top cam system, these transferred needles (such as those indicated at 3 in FIG- URE 4) collect yarn Y but tuck on their latches 28 at the top stitch cam 19 of the even feed F1 in order to retain their old loops which are accordingly not knocked over by virtue of the position of the said stitch cam. All the remaining needles in the bottom cylinder 1 are caused to knit at the bottom stitch cam 13 of the said even feed F1 (see needles 3 in FIGURE 4). At the Odd feed F2, all the upwardly transferred needles 3 in the top cylinder 2 which tucked on their latches at the top stitch cam 19 of the even feed are transferred down into the bottom cylinder 1 in advance of the odd feed bottom stitch cam 13, the bottom sliders 4 corresponding to these needles being automatically presented to receive the latter by the action of the specially designed fixed cams 24, 25 and 26 in the bottom cam system upon the unshaded butts 9a of appropriate slider-controlling jacks 9 and the unshaded butts 10a of the associated jack selectors 19. The now downwardly transferred needles 3 (see FIGURE 5) will knit in the bottom cylinder 1 at the bottom stitch cam 13 of the odd feed F2, unless previously re-selected for transfer by the patterning device provided at the selecting station D in advance of the last mentioned feedwhere a selection is made either for transfer or non-knitting. Thus, in accordance with this improved method of knitting, needles such as 3 required to knit in the bottom cylinder at the odd feed F2 can only do so if they have previously been selected in advance of the even feed F1 for transference to the top cylinder 2 and caused to tuck on their latches at the said even feed. In FIGURE 5, representative needles selected by the patterning device at D to be transferred up into and to knit in the top cylinder 2 are designated 3 On the other hand, needles in the bottom cylinder selected at D for non-knitting are designated 3 The idea, as will be appreciated, is that selected doubleended needles transferred up from the bottom cylinder 1 into the top cylinder 2 in advance of the stitch cams 13 and 19 of the even feed F1 shall be engaged and retained by relevant top sliders 5 by which they are tracked through the knitting cam system of the even feed, without knocking over, and are thereby caused to receive bights of yarn across their open latches in addition to the old loops held underneath the latches, whilst at the same time non-selected needles in the bottom cylinder take yarn and knit plain or face loops which are incorporated into a plain web of fabric in solid colour. The idea is such, moreover, that at the odd feed those retained upwardly transferred needles which are moved to a downward transfer point and are received by the relevant bottom sliders automatically tracked to receive them, shall take new yarn at the feeder 12 immediately in advance of the stitch cams 13 and 19 of the odd feed F2 and go on to knit at the bottom stitch cam 13 at that feed so that the old loops 01 and the aforementioned bights b of yarn will slide along the stems of the said needles and, in passing the upper latches of the latter, the old loops 01 will automatically close the same and be cast off the needles whilst the bights b of yarn will follow the same path and pass to the inside of the fabric thus forming floats behind the plain web of fabric aforesaid.

As will be appreciated, the selection of needles 3 in ad- Vance of the even feed F1 for transference upwardly from the bottom cylinder 1 into the top cylinder 2 is initiated by selective operation of the selectors 10 so that the operating butts 10a of the selected selectors are raised by the cam 18 to elevate corresponding jacks 9 to a height at which their butts 9a can in turn be acted upon by the further cam 15 designed to raise the said jacks and hence also the corresponding bottom sliders 4 to a height at which the said jack butts are presented to the transfer bolt cam 16 in the relevant knit-transfer truck T, all in accordance with conventional practice. This transfer bolt cam 16 is opposed by the top slider transfer bolt cam 21 by means of which empty top sliders 5 are moved to receive the upwardly transferred double-ended needles. Thereafter, the butts 5a of these particular top sliders pass along the track T1 which by virtue of the position of the stitch cam 19, does not allow the lower latches of the double-ended needles to knock-over so that these needles do not knit.

A multi-feed machine modified to perform this improved method of knitting can consequently produce knitted garment lengths having welt, rib, purl tnd like links-links effects and solid colour plain areas patterned by two-colour float jacquard effects, together with selected tuck areas, all the feeds of the machine, each having only one selecting point in advance thereof, being used.

Broadly considered, the aforementioned supplementary method, illustrated in FIGURE 6, comprises the progressive steps of selecting needles at the single selecting station C in advance of the even feed F1 to knit in the bottom cylinder 1 both at the said even feed as well as at the odd feed F2 whilst causing the remaining non-selected needles to non-knit and automatically tuck at the even feed F1 and, at the odd feed F2, selecting needles to knit in the top cylinder 2 at the odd feed and causing needles which were previously caused to non-knit at the even feed to non-knit again and automatically tuck at the odd feed. To enable this supplementary method to be carried out, the cam layout illustrated in FIGURE 3 is modified by withdrawing from action the bottom and the top transfer bolt cams 16 and 21 at the even feed F1 and by providing, for action upon predetermined ones of the bottom slider butts 4a, in advance of the bottom stitch cam 13 at each of the feeds, an automatically operated tuck bolt cam 29.

To facilitate an understanding of the progressive butt path-s illustrated in FIGURE 6, it should be explained that all blacked in butts are those on instruments in control of needles, all unshaded butts are on instruments such as empty sliders, not in control of needles and all those unshaded butts bearing dots are on instruments in control of non-selected needles caused to non-knit and tuck.

In pursuance of the supplementary method, whilst a number of needles selected at D in advance of the odd feed F2 are being caused by the relevant top stitch cam 19 to knit in the top cylinder 2 at the even feed F1, the jacks 9 and the associated empty bottom sliders 4 corresponding to these needles are selected at the single selecting station C in advance of the even feed to direct their butts 9a and 4a into the knit/transfer tracks T. No upward transference of needles takes place at the even feed F1, however, as both the bottom transfer and the jack transfer bolt cams in advance of this feed are withdrawn from action. At the same time, needles then in the bottom cylinder 1 are selected at the selecting station C in advance of the even feed F1 some to tuck, by virtue of the unshaded dotted butts 10a of the corresponding selectors 10 being directed to pass along a low tucking track T2 coincident with the top edge of the cam 17, and others to knit in the bottom cylinder 1 as a consequence of the blacked in and unshaded butts 10a of the associated selectors being directed into a higher track T3 coincident with the horizontal edge of the selectorelevating cam 18 to elevate the corresponding jacks and sliders to the point where the relevant needles will knit at the bottom stitch cam 13 of the even feed F1.

At the odd feed F2, the selection of bottom sliders 4 into the relevant knit/transfer track T previously effected at the even feed F1 as aforesaid is automatically retained and carried forward into the odd feed F2 as a consequence of the blacked in and unshaded butts 10a of the corresponding selectors 10 being acted upon and elevated by the cam 24, and the blacked in and unshaded butts 9a of the associated jacks 9 being guarded by the fixed cam 25 and thereafter landed on to, and further raised in steps, by the fixed cam 26 and the blacked in and unshaded butts 4a of the relevant bottom sliders 4 being acted upon by the automatically operated retained selection bolt cam 27. Thus, any needles required to knit in either the top cylinder 2 or the bottom cylinder 1 at the odd feed F2 must first have their bottom sliders 4 selectively moved into the appropriate knit/transfer track T by appropriate selection at the selecting station C in advance of the even feed Flt. Only then is it possible to re-select these needles at the selecting station D in advance of the odd feed F2 to determine which are to knit at the bottom stitch cam 13 and which at the top stitch cam 19 at the said odd feed. Similarly, needles required to tuck at the odd feed F2 can only be caused to do so by being first selected at the selecting station C in advance of the even feed F1 to tuck at the latter, allowing the unshaded dotted butts 9a of their associated jacks 9 to pass at a low level beneath the knit/transfer selection retaining cams 25 and 26. Only in these conditions can these same needles be again selected at the selecting station D in advance of the odd feed F2 to tuck at the latter.

In other words, in carrying out this supplementary method to incorporate tuck stitch effects into the fabric, selective transfer is effected at the odd feed F2. First, all top cylinder needles are transferred down so that all of the needles in the machine are then in the bottom cylinder 1. By a selection of the needles thereupon made in advance of the odd feed F2 selected bottom cylinder needles are transferred into the top cylinder to knit at the top stitch cam 19 at the odd feed, whilst non-selected bottom cylinder needles take two paths, i.e. some to knit in the bottom cylinder at the odd feed bottom stitch cam 13 and others (those that passed along a non-knit track T4 at the even feed F1) to be positioned for tucking by virtue of their unshaded dotted bottom slider butts 4a first passing along a non-knit track T4 at the odd feed F2, and then being acted upon and raised to tucking height by the operative automatically operated bolt cam 29 immediately preceding the bottom stitch cam 13 at the odd feed. Thus, at the odd feed, needles are presented to take yarn to form loops in purl, plain knit and tuck.

We claim:

1. A method of producing a selective links-links float jacquard fabric .on a superimposed needle cylinder machine which has a multiplicity of odd and even feeds and is of the form including, in combination, axially opposed bottom and top needle cylinders, a circular series of independent double-ended latch needles for operation in said cylinders, bottom and top needle actuating sliders in the said two cylinders, knitting, tucking and transfer cams in bottom and top cam systems for operating the said sliders, jacks in association with the sliders in the bottom cylinder and, in advance of each feed, a selecting station at which is provided a patterning device for selectively influencing the jacks, whereby needles can be transferred from one cylinder to the other, and vice versa; said method comprising the steps of selecting needles at a single selecting station in advance of each of the even feeds to knit in the bottom cylinder at the immediately following odd feed, and selecting at a single selecting station in advance of each odd feed needles to knit in the top cylinder at this odd feed, leaving the non-selected needles at the odd feed which needles knitted in the bottom cylinder at the aforementioned even feed to non-knit in the bottom cylinder at the said odd feed.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein needles in the bottom cylinder which are not required to knit at the even feed are selected by the patterning device located in advance of this feed for transference into the top cylinder where, by virtue of butts of the receiving top sliders passing along a track in the top cam system, these transferred needles collect yarn but tuck on their latches at the top stitch cam of the even fee-d in order to retain their old loops which are not knocked over.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein at the odd feed, all the upwardly transferred needles in the top cylinder which tucked on their latches at the top stitch cam of the even feed are transferred down into the bottom cylinder in advance of the odd feed bottom stitch earn, the bottom sliders corresponding to these needles being automatically presented to receive the latter by the action of specially provided fixed cams in the bottom cam system upon butts of appropriate slidercontrolling jacks and associated selectors.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the down- Wardly transferred needles knit in the bottom cylinder at the bottom stitch cam of the odd feed.

'5. A method of knitting practiced on superimposed needle cylinder machines of a type which have a multiplicity of odd and even feeds and which are of the form including, in combination, axially opposed bottom and top needle cylinders, a circular series of independent double-ended latch needles for operation in said cylinders, bottom and top needle actuating sliders in the said two cylinders, knitting, tucking and transfer cams in bottom and top cam systems for operating the said sliders, jacks in association with the sliders in the bottom cylinder and, in advance of each feed, a selecting station at which is provided a patterning device for selectively influencing the jacks, whereby needles can be transferred from one cylinder to the other, and vice versa; said method comprising the steps of selecting needles at a single selecting station in advance of each of the even feeds to knit in the bottom cylinder at the immediately following odd feed, and selecting at a single selecting station in advance of each odd feed needles to knit in the top cylinder at this odd feed, leaving the non-selected needles at the odd feed which needles knitted in the bottom cyliner at the aforementioned even feed to non-knit in the bottom cylinder at the said odd feed, said method further comprising the progressive steps of selecting needles at the selecting station in advance of the even feed to knit in the bottom cylinder both at the said even feed as well as at the odd feed whilst causing the remaining non-selected needles to non-knit and automatically tuck at the even feed and, at the odd feed, selecting needles to knit in the top cylinder at the odd feed and causing needles which were previously caused to non- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,509 9/1955 Bristow 66-14 3,024,631 3/1962 Wiesinger et al. 66-14 6,046,760 7/1962 Peberdy 66-14 3,261,183 7/ 1966 England 6614 FOREIGN PATENTS 877,060 '9/ 1961 Great Britain. 877,238 9/1961 Great Britain.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner. 

